As the sun sank behind the Capitol, a shadow lingered near the National Guard barracks.
Security cameras showed nothing unusual, yet someone—or something—was watching. Phones buzzed with anonymous tips and cryptic warnings. The orchestrator of the ambush was still out there, and their motives remained unclear, suggesting their sights extended beyond Washington’s streets.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) faced criticism for attributing the death of a National Guard member in D.C. to President Donald Trump, arguing that his decisions to deploy troops in U.S. cities unnecessarily put them at risk.
In an interview with CNN host Sara Sidner, Wasserman Schultz said Trump “should blame himself” for placing military personnel “in harm’s way” after Wednesday’s ambush-style shooting that claimed the lives of two D.C. National Guard members.
The victims, identified as Sarah Beckstrom and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, were shot near the White House in an attack reportedly carried out by an Afghan national.
“The president consistently avoids taking responsibility for his policies,” Wasserman Schultz said. “We must ensure our military isn’t put in positions where they are performing law enforcement duties in our cities.”
The former Democratic National Committee chair suggested that Trump’s “crime crackdown,” executed through National Guard deployments, may have turned Washington into a potential target.
“This raises an important question,” she told CNN. “Would someone have traveled across the country specifically to target law enforcement officers in D.C.? Probably not. So why wasn’t the president’s immediate response, ‘Perhaps deploying military troops here was a mistake?’”
Earlier this year, Trump ordered the surge of federal personnel in response to rising crime rates and overstretched local police forces, following violent protests and what he described as years of “lawlessness and decay” under Democratic leadership.
Conclusion
The debate over responsibility would continue in the days and weeks ahead, with politicians trading blame and voters watching closely. Yet behind the headlines lay a deeper truth: the nation’s capital had become a powder keg, vulnerable to violence in ways no single policy could fully prevent. Amid the finger-pointing, the service and sacrifice of the fallen National Guard members remained a solemn reminder that real lives—not politics—hung in the balance.